The cuts will reduce the work force by 21.5 full-time equivalent positions or about 10 percent of the current 219 full-time equivalent position health services work force, said UMass spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski

There will be a reduction in health center hours, the closing of the pharmacy at the end of the spring semester and a reduction in on-site laboratory tests.

“There are seven (pharmacies) within a three-mile radius all on a bus line,” Blaguszewski said, so those using the pharmacy will have options.

As of Jan. 23, 2012, health center hours will also be reduced.

Health services currently provides walk-in care from 8 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. But as of the start of the spring semester, the center will close at 8 p.m. during the week and be open from noon to 4 p.m. on the weekends.

The reduction in hours could mean a bump in ambulance service calls to take students to area hospitals. “It’s too soon to tell,” Blaguszewski said.

He also pointed out that UMass does reimburse Amherst for its fire and ambulance service.

In fiscal 2011, he said the university paid the town $346,000, a figure that’s based on a formula of use.

He said the cuts are about “financial sustainability of service.”

Health Services Executive Director Bernette A. Daly sent a message to the UMass community outlining the changes. “With increasing health-care expenses and declining insurance reimbursements, cost-effective services have never been more important,” she wrote. “These shifts are expected to reduce UHS’ expenses by approximately $1 million annually.”

As for other changes, as of Nov. 1, health services is closed on the holidays students are not on campus, such as Christmas, and Thanksgiving.

Services during the upcoming intercession will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but as of May 12, 2012, the health center will be closed on weekends during the summer and intercession.

Medical and mental health telephone triage services will remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Daly’s message.

Last summer, UMass raised premiums by 17 percent to deal with rising costs. Also out-of-pocket expenses increased, a move that upset some students. But officials said premiums would have risen by nearly 30 percent if those costs were not increased.

The plan required students to pay 15 percent of the cost to see a specialist on the preferred list off site and a $50 hike in the policy deductible, up from $200 among other changes. Previously, the plan covered 100 percent of the cost for a specialist.